GDT: Trades & Free Agency

[WTFMAN99]

Hopefully Tre uses some of the assets to land a long term solution on D this summer. It's a 6 man unit so one or two key acquisitions can really change the complexion and strength of the group.

Hate to say it but you also want a younger guy in situ who might be able to take on Morgan's role in a couple of years. He's 30 now but you want a successor in his 20s to take the reigns in 3-4 years.

Absolutely this.

Also...I love Mo....it's regular season and he generally steps up in the post-season but my god the group just looks so much more cohesive and not as "leaky" defensively when Rielly is sitting.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Yeah but you have to wonder if Giordano retained was worth anything having seen him play for 2.5 years. He’s been a rapidly declining asset whereas Colorado got a franchise cornerstone defenseman that allowed Byram to be moved off.

I guess it never occurred to the GM that paying a guy older than him to log heavy NHL minutes was probably not a great idea. But he probably thought he was getting his Ray Bourque.

Toews was also a cap dump. With D being a primary need, we should have been all over that.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Toews was also a cap dump. With D being a primary need, we should have been all over that.

Did we even have the picks to be in on that?

Would Lou have traded Toews to us?

 

[keonsbitterness]

Did we even have the picks to be in on that?

Would Lou have traded Toews to us?

He was traded after the 19-20 season. I think we had enough draft capital at that point.

Lou and Kyle supposedly got along well, so I'll guess yes.

 

[WTFMAN99]

He was traded after the 19-20 season. I think we had enough draft capital at that point.

Lou and Kyle supposedly got along well, so I'll guess yes.

You're right - this was our 2020 draft class - lots of picks

 

[sxvnert]

Hopefully Tre uses some of the assets to land a long term solution on D this summer. It's a 6 man unit so one or two key acquisitions can really change the complexion and strength of the group.

Hate to say it but you also want a younger guy in situ who might be able to take on Morgan's role in a couple of years. He's 30 now but you want a successor in his 20s to take the reigns in 3-4 years.

Tons of RD available this summer. All he needs is cap space.

1) Pesce
2) DeMelo
3) Roy
3) Tanev
4) Carrier
5) Lyubushkin

 

[WTFMAN99]

Tons of RD available this summer. All he needs is cap space.

1) Pesce
2) DeMelo
3) Roy
3) Tanev
4) Carrier
5) Lyubushkin

Roy
DeMelo
Tanev
Pesce
Carrier
Lybushkin

Some of it is preference and some of it is likelihood of getting.

 

[Jacquestrapless]

Anybody got details on this kids game?

 

[LeafSteel]

Would be surprised to see Treliving go after Desharnais.

He asked for him in the Lafferty trade but Edmonton refused.

If Desharnais goes to market, Treliving will be calling for sure.

I would be very happy with any of DeMelo, Pesce, and Roy, with Desharnais as 3RHD.

I truest Treliving to remake our d corps way more than Dubas.

With Brodie and Gio moving on, along with Edmundson and Boosh being UFA’s, we will have some opportunities and some money to play with.

Interested to see what Treliving does but his Benoit acquisition was extremely shrewd.

Anybody got details on this kids game?

What’s the connection and why would we want him?

Genuinely asking.

 

[WTFMAN99]

Would be surprised to see Treliving go after Desharnais.

He asked for him in the Lafferty trade but Edmonton refused.

If Desharnais goes to market, Treliving will be calling for sure.

I would be very happy with any of DeMelo, Pesce, and Roy, with Desharnais as 3RHD.

I truest Treliving to remake our d corps way more than Dubas.

With Brodie and Gio moving on, along with Edmundson and Boosh being UFA’s, we will have some opportunities and some money to play with.

Interested to see what Treliving does but his Benoit acquisition was extremely shrewd.


What’s the connection and why would we want him?

Genuinely asking.

He's 6'6 and a right shot defenseman...that's the thing that stands out.

Is he any good? Is he mean? If he's a prick like Cernak, I have interest.

 

[Stephen]

Toews was also a cap dump. With D being a primary need, we should have been all over that.

Yep, also a college product, skating, skilled defenseman with high intelligence, and a money puck sleeper at the time too.

 

[aingefan]

Would be surprised to see Treliving go after Desharnais.

He asked for him in the Lafferty trade but Edmonton refused.

If Desharnais goes to market, Treliving will be calling for sure.

I would be very happy with any of DeMelo, Pesce, and Roy, with Desharnais as 3RHD.

I truest Treliving to remake our d corps way more than Dubas.

With Brodie and Gio moving on, along with Edmundson and Boosh being UFA’s, we will have some opportunities and some money to play with.

Interested to see what Treliving does but his Benoit acquisition was extremely shrewd.


What’s the connection and why would we want him?

Genuinely asking.

I think the connection is nationality.
Big kid, RHD, undrafted free agent has been percolating in the top Czech league.

 

[sxvnert]

Anybody got details on this kids game?

Same player?

 

[nuck]

He's 6'6 and a right shot defenseman...that's the thing that stands out.

Is he any good? Is he mean? If he's a prick like Cernak, I have interest.

Its kind of a watered down league because the salaries mean the better players get pulled by the richer Euro leagues. Martin Gernat was a horrendously bad defender in North America with some offence. He won their best defenseman award in 2021. Ick. But Uvis Balinskas won it last year and he has played his way onto the Panthers this year at age 27. Maybe he is one of those good ones.

 

[SprDaVE]

Oskar Eklind signed with the Flyers. He was one of my top targets.

 

[Americanadian]

Since when is Florida the gold standard?

The mother f***ers pulled off a bunch of playoff wins when their goalie went into galaxy mode. When he regressed to the mean, they got their ass handed to them by vegas.

If your goalie is the highest paid goalie in the league you should expect that to happen, no?

 

[CDN24]

He was traded after the 19-20 season. I think we had enough draft capital at that point.

Lou and Kyle supposedly got along well, so I'll guess yes.

He was traded on October 12th 2020 right after the 2020 draft held on oct 6 and 7th for a 2021 2nd and a 2022 2nd. Leafs had the picks to do it but not the cap space to pay Toews. They had just dumped Johnsson to free up cap space to pay existing guys

 

[Fogelhund]

It's rare, but at this point, I'm at a complete loss as to what should be done in the off season this year. If this Matthews/Bertuzzi/Domi thing keeps working, and we win some rounds.... what next? Originally, I thought we let Bertuzzi go, and resign Domi as the 3C, spend our money on the D... but then this thing has been working...

But then... how do we resign both Bertuzzi and Domi, and build up the D... Ideally, you find a way to move Tavares or Marner's cap... but neither seem like they'd ever happen, or even get asked to waive.
I guess we just hope that these lines continue to work in the playoffs, and then worry about it in the offseason... Let's go win some rounds boys.

 

[ToneDog]

It's rare, but at this point, I'm at a complete loss as to what should be done in the off season this year. If this Matthews/Bertuzzi/Domi thing keeps working, and we win some rounds.... what next? Originally, I thought we let Bertuzzi go, and resign Domi as the 3C, spend our money on the D... but then this thing has been working...

But then... how do we resign both Bertuzzi and Domi, and build up the D... Ideally, you find a way to move Tavares or Marner's cap... but neither seem like they'd ever happen, or even get asked to waive.
I guess we just hope that these lines continue to work in the playoffs, and then worry about it in the offseason... Let's go win some rounds boys.

Maybe you can convince Max and Bert to resign at a team friendly number by giving them an extra year like they did Reaves. What they do with Sammy will be interesting. A Sammy/Woll combo would be solid but I am not sure I like a Woll/cheap backup combo.

 

[SprDaVE]

It's rare, but at this point, I'm at a complete loss as to what should be done in the off season this year. If this Matthews/Bertuzzi/Domi thing keeps working, and we win some rounds.... what next? Originally, I thought we let Bertuzzi go, and resign Domi as the 3C, spend our money on the D... but then this thing has been working...

But then... how do we resign both Bertuzzi and Domi, and build up the D... Ideally, you find a way to move Tavares or Marner's cap... but neither seem like they'd ever happen, or even get asked to waive.
I guess we just hope that these lines continue to work in the playoffs, and then worry about it in the offseason... Let's go win some rounds boys.

Only way we can keep both is if they take similar or pay cuts on their deals. Leafs have some good wingers and young players coming up that will need more and more ice time. Robertson is scratching the surface, Knies will improve and probably be way too good to play low in the lineup long-term, Cowan seems like a blue chipper, etc.

I like Domi and Bertuzzi for what they are but we have to be careful with our cap and managing that distribution. That ~8-9M of cap going to more forwards seems like a tough way to go about it. I think Domi's love with the city and versatility has probably made him a re-sign. Bertuzzi has been so much better lately but I think he's replaceable for a cheaper/faster/younger alternative.

 

[Fogelhund]

Maybe you can convince Max and Bert to resign at a team friendly number by giving them an extra year like they did Reaves. What they do with Sammy will be interesting. A Sammy/Woll combo would be solid but I am not sure I like a Woll/cheap backup combo.

I'm a big Woll believer.. but he's had a tough year, while the second half of the year, Sammy has been very good.. but what term and cost? Does $4 mil with term get it done now for Sammy?

Domi @ $3 mil makes sense with term. Jarnkrok and Kampf would need to go, which I'm ok with. I think you'd have around $3 mil to extend Bertuzzi... would he take that? Then who are the C's? Matthews, Tavares, Holmberg and Dewar? hmmmm

and even moving Jarnkrok and Kampf, we'd have too many forwards and not enough spots...

Bert Matthews Domi
McMann Tavares Nylander
Robertson/Knies Holmberg Marner
Cowan/Dewar/Reaves/Minten/Robertson/Knies/Grebyonkin

Someone has to go here... and I don't like any of the choices to move a body.

Maybe as @SprDaVE suggests, we just move on from Bert anyway... we have a ton of bodies and the kids should all be improving...

 

[SprDaVE]

I'm a big Woll believer.. but he's had a tough year, while the second half of the year, Sammy has been very good.. but what term and cost? Does $4 mil with term get it done now for Sammy?

Domi @ $3 mil makes sense with term. Jarnkrok and Kampf would need to go, which I'm ok with. I think you'd have around $3 mil to extend Bertuzzi... would he take that? Then who are the C's? Matthews, Tavares, Holmberg and Dewar? hmmmm

and even moving Jarnkrok and Kampf, we'd have too many forwards and not enough spots...

Bert Matthews Domi
McMann Tavares Nylander
Robertson/Knies Holmberg Marner
Cowan/Dewar/Reaves/Minten/Robertson/Knies/Grebyonkin

Someone has to go here... and I don't like any of the choices to move a body.

Maybe as @SprDaVE suggests, we just move on from Bert anyway... we have a ton of bodies and the kids should all be improving...

My very early look at what could be next season:

Knies Matthews Marner
McMann Domi Nylander
Robertson Tavares Jarnkrok
Dewar Holmberg Reaves

Knies Matthews Domi
Nylander Tavares Marner
Robertson Holmberg Jarnkrok
McMann Dewar Reaves

Move Kampf for some picks, look for a cheap center veteran to maybe rotate with Holmberg or whatever. Dewar is also a capable center so that could work. You can put Domi back as 1RW and move up Tavares, etc. It's very fluid.

I don't know how you fit Bertuzzi in this regardless. Too much money without fixing a need. Invest in a staple RHD that can really elevate our defensive core.

 

[sxvnert]

My very early look at what could be next season:

Knies Matthews Marner
McMann Domi Nylander
Robertson Tavares Jarnkrok
Dewar Holmberg Reaves

Knies Matthews Domi
Nylander Tavares Marner
Robertson Holmberg Jarnkrok
McMann Dewar Reaves

Move Kampf for some picks, look for a cheap center veteran to maybe rotate with Holmberg or whatever. Dewar is also a capable center so that could work. You can put Domi back as 1RW and move up Tavares, etc. It's very fluid.

I don't know how you fit Bertuzzi in this regardless. Too much money without fixing a need. Invest in a staple RHD that can really elevate our defensive core.

Offer Bert and Domi 5-6 yr deals at a lower AAV (5-6yr/4-4.5m each). No way either player turns down that term.

Tre really needs to have a sit down with JT to move him somewhere else. Spin it as "we're moving in a different direction and we're giving the captaincy to Matthews". No way he'll stick around if they remove his captaincy.

 

[ACC1224]

Offer Bert and Domi 5-6 yr deals at a lower AAV (5-6yr/4-4.5m each). No way either player turns down that term.

Tre really needs to have a sit down with JT to move him somewhere else. Spin it as "we're moving in a different direction and we're giving the captaincy to Matthews". No way he'll stick around if they remove his captaincy.

Tavares isn't going anywhere.

 

[Evilhomer]

Offer Bert and Domi 5-6 yr deals at a lower AAV (5-6yr/4-4.5m each). No way either player turns down that term.

Tre really needs to have a sit down with JT to move him somewhere else. Spin it as "we're moving in a different direction and we're giving the captaincy to Matthews". No way he'll stick around if they remove his captaincy.

I'm not sure Bertuzzi would take a pay cut after having a better season this year than last year. I think he's probably a guy that you just have to move on from. No reason to be seduced by the fact that he looks good playing next to Matthews. Most players do.